Before the move on February 14, Russian authorities had allowed charter flights that were bringing Russian citizens back from China.
All regularly scheduled flights from across Russia to China were stopped on February 1, except for some flights operated by state carrier Aeroflot, Air China, Hainan Airlines, and China Southern Airlines, which are running routes through an isolated terminal in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport.
Russia has brought home hundreds of its citizens from China since the coronavirus outbreak in emerged in December in Wuhan, capital of the central province of Hubei.
On February 14, the Russian Embassy in Cambodia said that eight Russian passengers from the Westerdam cruise ship that has been turned away from ports around Asia over coronavirus concerns and is now anchored in the Cambodian port of Sihanoukville, will be repatriated on February 15 at the expense of the tour company.
Chinese officials on February 14 said that the death toll from the coronavirus in the country was 1,380, with 63,851 confirmed cases.